This scientific revelation is a bit like revisiting the biblical story many of us were told as children about Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden. In this creation myth, we are reminded of an early paradise on earth where lots of good stuff grows for our nutritional enjoyment. Somehow, we have lost our way along the journey and have been sucked in by hucksters making overly-processed “food” out of sugar and complex carbohydrates to the detriment of our health. Do our kids, or ourselves, want to eat more fruit and naturally fight off gum disease – this sounds pretty obvious to us. Children being exposed to overly sweet artificial foods sows the seed for diabetes, depression, and heart disease down the track. The serpent is the processed food industry. “Food” equals profits over people and the financialisation of the food industry is making everybody sicker unnecessarily.

Hallelujah! We Are Rediscovering The Goodness Of Natural Fruit

“A research team has verified the antibacterial effect of seven food-derived flavonoids against periodontal pathogenic bacteria. The results showed that though several of the compounds inhibited bacterial growth, Pru-C12 had the highest antimicrobial effect.”
– Science Daily

Good old citrus and coconut, it seems, have some answers for us on the health spectrum. Perhaps, we have travelled the long way around to return at the point we started out from in the first place, but now many of us are much sicker. If you spend your time in the aisles of our brightly coloured supermarkets you could be forgiven for thinking that all that glitters must be good for us. You would be wrong, of course, and many youngsters have lost their way, nutritionally speaking. I have personally met many folk who rarely eat anything natural and not packaged in some bright wrapper. Soft drinks, sports drinks, lollies, candy bars, snack foods and fast foods litter the diets of too many of us. Is it any wonder our hospitals are full of overweight patients suffering a litany of chronic health complaints? Too sweet invariably means problems down the track. Diabetes is a major scourge and almost entirely caused by poor diet and sedentary living. We sit on our butts in air conditioned comfort at home, at work, and in the car. Most of us work sitting down in front of computer screens. Too much of a faux good thing is literally killing us. Foods rich in fat, salt and sugar with zero fibre are murdering our health. This is a recipe for our own demise. Get up off the sofa and go for a walk before it is too late. Do it every day. Convenience is killing you! How many steps can you get in today? It will save your life if you can walk a lot more than you currently do. This writer currently walks around 18 to 20 thousand steps every day and feels much better for it. Short cuts are a short cut to the cemetery.

Periodontal Disease Caused By Bacteria & Poor Oral Hygiene

“Periodontal disease is an inflammatory disease caused by a periodontal pathogenic bacteria infection that affects oral and internal health. Good oral care is essential for prevention, but most over-the-counter oral hygiene products are disinfectants that can be highly irritating. This makes them unsuitable for use by young children and the elderly, who are susceptible to periodontal disease. Prunin laurate (Pru-C12) and its analogs were tested against the periodontal pathogenic bacteria, Porphyromonas gingivalis. The results showed that while several of the compounds inhibited bacterial growth, Pru-C12, which can be derived from biomass such as that of citrus plants and coconut-derived components, had the highest antimicrobial effect.”
– Erika Wada, Chiharu Ito, Mai Shinohara, Satoshi Handa, Miki Maetani, Mayo Yasugi, Masami Miyake, Tatsuji Sakamoto, Ayaka Yazawa, Shigeki Kamitani. Prunin Laurate Derived from Natural Substances Shows Antibacterial Activity against the Periodontal Pathogen Porphyromonas gingivalis. Foods, 2024; 13 (12): 1917 DOI: 10.3390/foods13121917 

This is a return to utilising natural resources for better oral health outcomes. In the case of gum disease this is particularly important because medical science is realising the correlation between serious health problems and periodontal gingivitis. These pathogens do not restrict their malfeasance to our oral cavity. More and more links are being discovered between gum disease and chronic health issues like diabetes, arthritis, depression, and heart disease.

Heart Disease, Gum Disease & Bad Bacteria

“The bacteria that infect the gums and cause gingivitis and periodontitis also travel to blood vessels elsewhere in the body where they cause blood vessel inflammation and damage; tiny blood clots, heart attack and stroke may follow. Supporting this idea is the finding of remnants of oral bacteria within atherosclerotic blood vessels far from the mouth. Then again, antibiotic treatment has not proven effective at reducing cardiovascular risk. Rather than bacteria causing the problem, it’s the body’s immune response – inflammation – that sets off a cascade of vascular damage throughout the body, including the heart and brain.”
– Robert H. Shmerling, MD, Senior Faculty Editor, Harvard Health Publishing; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing

Getting on top of your periodontal problems is highly advisable. Talk to your dentist about your oral hygiene and whether gum disease is an issue for you. Drink plenty of pure water, as dry mouth is a major exacerbator for the bacteria in your mouth to cause problems.

Regular sips of pure water throughout the day will ensure lubrication and plenty of good saliva. Your diet will assist in staying on top of your oral health condition. Obviously, smoking and vaping are really bad for your oral hygiene. As are too much booze, coffee, tea, and soft drinks.

All of these substances are dehydrating and water is your natural and best option.

Brush your teeth with a quality tooth paste at least twice a day. Flossing is great for removing hard to get detritus from between the cracks of your teeth. A natural citrus mouthwash is preferable to something too antiseptic.

Eating less sugar and complex carbohydrates will improve your overall health and oral health too. Reduce the amount of processed foods in your diet and eat more natural foods like fruit and vegetables. Nature provides the best stuff and not factories manufacturing highly processed so-called “food”. Do yourself a favour and retrain your taste buds to enjoy natural foods over artificially sweetened, salted, and padded processed packaged foods.

If you want to enjoy good health eat more green leafy vegetables, get more natural fibre in your diet, eat much less red meat, and exercise.

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